Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:46:00 GMT
The U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is amending its bovine tuberculosis (TB) regulations regarding state and zone classifications by
removing Minnesota
from the list of modified accredited advanced states and adding it to the list of modified accredited states.
As a result of Minnesota’s reclassification as a modified accredited state, the interstate movement of cattle and bison moving from Minnesota will be restricted, according to federal regulations, in order to prevent the spread of tuberculosis. Increased TB testing and certification requirements will affect all cattle and bison moving interstate except those animals moving to slaughter or originating from accredited herds.
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Posted in News
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:18:00 GMT
The surge in grain prices has caused U.S. Midwestern land values to rise as well, but prices have now expanded so far, so fast that some experts worry that the farmland market has become a
bubble waiting to burst.
“Recent increases in farmland prices raise questions about whether the farmland price increases are outpacing increases in farmland returns,” said Gary Schnitkey, farm financial-management specialist at the University of Illinois extension program
Posted in News
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:33:00 GMT
Speculative-fund buying took Chicago Board of Trade corn futures to
all-time highs
last Wednesday, with the lead contract testing the $6 area on ideas that adverse weather could delay plantings.
Nearby CBOT May corn rose 11.75 cents a bushel to settle at $5.9575, near its intraday and all-time high of $5.9925. Deferred contracts, including the December contract, representing the soon-to-be-planted crop easily settled above the $6-per-bushel mark.
Posted in News
Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:21:00 GMT
According to today’s dairy products report,
total Feb. cheese output was 784 mil. lbs,
4.8% above Feb. ‘07 but 3.5 percent below Jan. ‘08.
Italian type cheese prod. was 335 mil. lbs, 4.8% above
Feb. ‘07 but 4.8% below Jan. ‘08.
American type cheese prod. totaled 319 mil. lbs, 4.5% above
Feb. ‘07 but 4.4% below Jan. ‘08.
Butter prod. was 147 mil. lbs., 9.4% above Feb. ‘07 and
13.1 % below January ‘08.
Posted in Statistics
Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:53:00 GMT
The
March Announced Class III price is $18.00. This compares to $17.03 in Feb. and $15.09 in March 2008 . The
March Class IV price is $14.17 which is a $0.50 drop from the Feb. value and a $0.46 increase from the March 2007 value.
Posted in Dairy-Related Prices
Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:11:00 GMT
The U.S. Department of Agriculture may have to recommend a
two-year extension to the current farm bill if Congress can’t produce a new unified bill that President George W. Bush would be willing to sign, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said Wednesday.
Lawmakers and the Bush administration are close to finalizing an agreement on how to fund a new farm bill, Schafer said, but there is still a wide disagreement on farm subsidy reforms that the USDA has proposed, he said.
The 2002 farm bill was originally set to expire in October 2007, but Congress has passed short-term extensions while it continues to work on a replacement bill. The latest extension runs out on April 18.
Posted in News
Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:42:00 GMT
Farmers are expected to
plant less corn
this year, according to the Department of Agriculture, and that could mean higher bills at the grocery store.
Corn prices have skyrocketed in recent years, helped by the burgeoning ethanol industry, which turns the crop into fuel, and rising worldwide demand for food. The higher prices have hurt poultry, beef and pork companies, who use corn to feed their animals.
Farmers are expected to plant 86 million acres of corn this year, the government predicted Monday, down 8% from 2007, when the amount of corn planted was the highest since World War II. The decreased supply could drive corn prices even higher – a cost for food producers that could be passed on to consumers.
Posted in News
Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:31:00 GMT
The preliminary
March Milk-Feed-Price Ratio was announced by USDA to be 2.05 . This is the lowest monthly value over the 1985-2008 period. The March ‘07 value was 2.39 and Feb. ‘08 value was 2.24. The prices used in the calculation of this ratio were Allmilk: $18.30, Corn Grain: $4.83, Soybeans $11.90 and Alfalfa Hay: $143.00
Posted in News
Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:49:00 GMT
Wal-Mart announced today that its
Great Value milk is now being sourced exclusively from cows that have not been treated with artificial growth hormones like recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST). Sam’s Club is also exclusively offering milk selections from suppliers that have pledged not to treat cows with rbST.
Posted in News
Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:44:00 GMT
Higher milk prices led to a large increase in 2007 revenue for Dairy Farmers of America
Inc., but the cooperative recorded a
loss for the year due to plant closures and revaluation
of past investments.
Posted in News
